KANNA SPENT THREE NIGHTS and three days being absolutely ravished by muzan. the man's stamina was inextinguishable, for his greed and need to remind kanna who she belonged to was far too great.

if it weren't for the fact that upper moon one had arrived to ask for kanna, the woman worried that muzan would've continued for another few days.

despite being entangled with muzan quite often, kanna never got used to the amount of times the man could keep going. she was simply not as energized as him.

"get dressed. kokushibo's here", muzan breathed out, as he loosely wore the navy blue yukata kanna had bought him when she was out with rui.

kanna's chest heaved up and down, enjoying her moment of rest before muzan had went into his closet and tossed the woman one of his older yukatas.

"you may wear this for now, since your dress has been soiled", the demon king grinned.

kanna weakly sat up, attempting to get out of bed only to nearly drop onto her knees if it weren't for muzan catching her.

"for a demon, you're still unbelievably weak", muzan insulted, as he carried the woman to his connected bathroom and sat her on a wooden stool, which allowed her to lean against the wall.

     taking an unused towel, he had wet it with warm water before dragging it across kanna's dirty body.

     "apologies for my feebleness", kanna mumbled.

     "rather than apologizing, you should start eating more humans. when was the last time you ate?"

     when answered with silence, muzan had glanced up from wiping kanna's thighs, seeing that the demoness had passed out against the wall.

     annoyed, muzan threw the grubby towel into the sink before carrying kanna back to bed.

     after dressing her in his yukata, muzan had slid open his bedroom door, witnessing kokushibo kneeling on one knee and still patiently waiting.

     "greetings...muzan-sama", upper moon one spoke.

     "kanna isn't feeling well", muzan informed.

in an instant, kokushibo was out of the demon king's sight, for this was not the first time out of many times that this has happened.

     "nakime, summon akaza".

     as muzan glanced back at the passed out woman one last time, he had left to go choose a family to immerse himself into.

     akaza appeared moments after muzan's departure, immediately understanding his purpose for being summoned.

     closing the sliding door behind him, akaza had kneeled before the bed, careful not to disturb the resting demoness.

     "lady kanna, it is I, akaza. I've come to take care of you in muzan-sama's absence".

     upon not hearing a response, akaza had daringly entered muzan's bathroom, taking the stubby stool and placing it right next to the bed.

taking a seat, akaza was about to pull the covers over the woman before stopping himself. his fingers twitched in midair before retracting them back into his lap.

     despite akaza being used to this, he wasn't always this respectful towards kanna. the first time he met kanna just so happens to be the same situation as today.

     "akaza, stay beside kanna until dōma comes back with the marechi blood", muzan had commanded.

     though akaza didn't dare disobey, muzan could tell there was a bubbling annoyance within him, for he did not become a demon to take care of the weak.

     in fact, thinking of the weak simply made his skin itch.

     who the hell was so important that he, upper moon three, had to take time out of his training to oversee her?

     upon entering the woman's bedroom, akaza scowled at the sleeping demoness. she was attractive, he couldn't deny, but not to the point where she'd be an outlier to his beliefs.

unable to ignore his master's demands, akaza had no choice but to sit crisscross next to the woman's futon.

the pink-haired demon attempted to meditate, closing his eyes so that the feeble woman would be out of sight and out of mind.

yet her obnoxious heaving had snapped him out of his concentration.

what was even worse was that her eyes had momentarily fluttered open, revealing that she had awoken.

"akaza...", kanna breathed out with a faint smile.

"muzan-sama stated that upper moon two will return soon with some blood", akaza simply informed, wishing to no longer engage with kanna if necessary.

"I see...", kanna meekly replied, attempting to sit up only to crash into akaza's side.

akaza's immediate impulse was to push the woman away, yet he reminded himself that she was not just anybody. though he still wasn't quite clear about what kanna and muzan's relationship was, surely she was important enough for even kokushibo to bow down to her at meetings.

     "thank...you...", kanna managed to mutter, "I'm glad...that it's you....here.."

     kanna's body had then fallen back, about to hit the futon if it weren't for akaza catching the woman and basically cradling her in his lap in the meantime.

     his arms tensed, uncertain as to what to do next. he feared that if he placed her down, she'd wake up again and try talking to him, yet having a woman in his arms felt somewhat unpleasant.

     for hours on, akaza didn't move an inch, looking ahead at the neutral wall that hung famous pieces of artwork to avoid looking down at the woman.

     it wasn't until nearly the next nightfall that dōma had finally came back with the blood of a marechi human.

     back then and even now, akaza never liked dōma in the slightest, yet in that moment, it was the first time upper moon three had seen his fellow kizuki with such a look of disdain on his face.

     "who told you to hold her? put her down".

     akaza would've expected that level of demand from kokushibo, but never dōma.

     dōma was unserious, playful in an annoying way, and always too cheery for no damn reason.

     but it was then, that his usual facade had dropped.

     dōma placed the large pot of marechi blood onto the table and poured some into a bowl.

     carefully lifting kanna out of akaza's arms and into his own embrace, dōma attempted to gently awake the demoness.

     "lady kanna, I've brought you your favorite", dōma cooed.

     kanna's lips ever so slightly parted, as she had awoken once more. with her body weaker than the previous night, she couldn't even reach for the bowl of blood that was placed right in front of her.

     dōma lifted the bowl to her lips, encouraging kanna to take at least a few sips. after all, it wasn't easy finding a human with marechi blood in the winter.

     after kanna had begrudgingly swallowed the blood, some color seemed to resurface, despite her already being a pale demon in the first place.

     her breathing wasn't as strained, as she could actually see clearly as to who was with her.

     "drink some more", dōma urged, to which kanna had hesitantly complied.

     upon feeling like herself, kanna had thanked the two upper moons, rewarding them with the rest of the marechi blood.

     "I don't consume women", akaza had responded, taking his leave before kanna had even dismissed him.

     "don't mind him, lady kanna. he's just uptight for no reason", dōma comforted.

kanna smiled, "don't bully him too much dōma...he'll come around".

kanna's posture sunk deeper against dōma's chest, as the upper moon tightened his grip around her.

"lady kanna, how come you don't eat humans and just drink their blood? you'd be a lot stronger if you absorbed them".

"some questions are better left unanswered, dōma".

dōma pouted a little whilst leaning his face against the side of kanna's head, for she played a major role in why he was so inclined to climb from upper moon six to upper moon two.

"don't sulk now", kanna lightly chuckled, "I prefer it when you smile".

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     it wasn't until a couple weeks later that kanna had fully recovered and had summoned upper moon three back to the infinity castle.

     "yes?", akaza asked, not even bothering with the formalities.

seeing kanna not mind his rude mannerisms and actually laugh about it was somewhat refreshing.

"I wanted to formally thank you for taking care of me while I was..."

sick, akaza internally hoped that she wouldn't use that word. it sounded ridiculous. a demon getting sick is simply a disgrace.

"...passed out", kanna finished, noticing the pink-haired demon's unease.

"and to properly thank you, since you do not eat women, I've embroidered something for you".

handing akaza a bag, upper moon three hesitantly opened it, pulling out a red haori with a white snowflake embroidered onto both sides.

it was even cropped with the sleeves cut off to fit his usual style.

akaza wasn't quite sure how to react, for he had just done what he was told. he wasn't expecting a gift in return and honestly speaking, he wasn't sure he wanted one in the first place.

"if it's hard to accept, you needn't wear it. all I ask is for you to know that I appreciated being in your care", kanna curtly bowed.

she was good, really spot on with reading him. upper moon three wondered if she could read their minds like their master, but he doubted it, for she's too weak to even hunt for her own food.

yet that was just the beginning, for over the next couple of centuries, kanna had repeatedly gotten...weak.

and every time, muzan would leave her in his care, for what reason, he was unsure. however, every time without fail, kanna would repay him with something she made, despite him never doing anything with it.

     "why do you keep giving me things with snowflakes on them?", akaza once asked.

     yet kanna only smiled at upper moon three before turning her back to him and returning to her room.

     it was then that akaza knew that the demoness knew something he didn't. and though she was physically on par with a slightly stronger human, her knowledge outweighed him and the rest of the twelve kizuki combined.

     she held herself well. her actions spoke louder than words.

     and what's more, there must've been a reason for their master to have kept her beside him despite her lack of prowess.

     akaza was hooked, drunken on trying to figure her out. even dōma could become serious because of her, and he too, wished to solve that mystery as well — for how is it possible, that such an unassuming woman, could keep herself alive around such powerful demons such as himself?

     akaza broke out of his trance, for kanna had woken with sweat dripping down her forehead.

     it seemed like her condition had gotten worse, for she must've tried to prolong her next meal again despite what muzan had said. 

     getting up to grab a new towel from the bathroom, akaza had wet it first before twisting all the warm water out.

     he was quick to return by kanna's side, folding the short towel in half before gently wiping the sweat away from her face and arms.

     kanna's hand gently slapped akaza's forearm, as if telling him that she's fine for now.

     her eyelids barely opened, for they felt so much heavier this time. however, the dark-haired woman persevered.

     "it's...alright...", kanna whispered.

akaza retracted his arms, as he tightly gripped onto the moist towelette.

although he was used to waiting for kokushibo or dōma to return with the blood, a small part of him feared that kanna wouldn't be able to.

watching the demoness before him slowly breathe in and out whilst trickling with more sweat reminded him of someone, yet he couldn't quite recall for he deemed nothing was important before he became a demon anyways.

"who—"

before the woman could even finish her sentence, a disturbing cough emanated through the room. akaza hastily helped the demoness sit up so that she wouldn't choke on her own blood.

wait, blood.

ever since the first time akaza had taken care of kanna, never once has she coughed out blood.

due to kanna's special condition, akaza knew that the demoness could only ingest marechi blood rather than the regular human ones. hence, she could last around five years without it. however, she must've really pushed her limit this time, for akaza could only freeze and stare at the pool of blood that leaked out of the woman's pale lips.

kanna didn't seem fazed in the slightest, simply watching as the blood dripped like a faucet onto the demon king's yakuta.

'I wonder if he'd punish me again for dirtying this', the woman internally humored herself.

     "lady kanna".

     the dark-haired woman glanced up at akaza. one would've assumed he was concerned if they hadn't know him any better, for there was a sort of discomfort lingering in his gaze.

"don't be...so alarmed", kanna weakly chuckled, "it's just...some blood".

     akaza's grip on the towelette only intensified, as he thought about leaving kanna's side to go search for the special human blood himself if kokushibo were to take any longer.

     "sit", kanna waved, to which akaza had instantly complied.

     the pink-haired demon took a handkerchief out from his pocket, handing it to kanna for her to wipe away the blood.

     though the woman was unwell, she didn't fail to notice the tiny snowflakes embroidered onto it.

     "thank you...akaza", kanna smiled, using her clean hand to rest on top of akaza's fist.

     "you've...done plenty".

     akaza's fist unconsciously relaxed, as he didn't feel the need to shift away from the contact this time.

"I'm simply doing what I was told", upper moon three softly responded.

kanna only hummed in response, for they both knew that deep down, akaza had incidentally rekindled the feeling of being depended on. 

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: y'all, i REALLLY hope i'm not making them (especially muzan) too ooc 🥲

     i do want to preface that they have been together for centuries, hence why it seems like they're so close & not starting at step one (if that makes sense).

     once again, thank you for all the support & funny comments (i do read every single one of them lol) 🩷